Hanoi (VNA) – A conference reviewing 10 years of implementing the Directive of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in dealing with the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the war in Vietnam was held in Hanoi on December 10 by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA).
Speaking at the conference, Lieutenant General Do Hong Lam, Permanent Vice President of VAVA, said the decade-long implementation has brought comprehensive results. Party committees and local authorities have concretised the directive through support policies linked to socio-economic development, strengthened inspection and supervision, and promoted the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) and mass organisations. Policy implementation for victims has been carried out with accurate identification and medical evaluation, ensuring transparency and preventing misuse. More than 252,800 beneficiaries are currently receiving preferential treatment.
Resource mobilisation and victim support were expanded nationwide, with the association raising over 4.26 trillion VND (162 million USD) and spending more than 4.16 trillion VND on housing, care centres, livelihoods, scholarships and social welfare activities. Persistent advocacy for justice has helped promote the US government’s responsibility in overcoming war consequences, enhance international cooperation, support legal efforts of victims, and strengthen VAVA’s global standing. Communication activities were intensified, raising public awareness and encouraging domestic and international solidarity with victims, according to Lam.
Ngo Van Cuong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the VFF and Central Mass Organisations, commended VAVA’s efforts, emphasising the humanitarian significance of caring for victims and the strength of national solidarity.
He proposed continued awareness-raising; strengthening VAVA’s structure from central to grassroots levels; diversifying resource mobilisation, applying digital transformation and building sustainable support models in cooperation with organisations and enterprises. He also stressed persistent international advocacy for justice.
In his concluding remarks, VAVA President Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Chinh underlined the need to implement the directive flexibly in the new period; further improve policies, especially for third and fourth generations; promote inter-sector coordination; expand international cooperation; and intensify public communication and mobilisation./.
